31
Zodillas
Leek wasn’t sure exactly how to get to the airbase on Lortec. Vincente had only given them a rough idea where it was. As they approached Lortec, Peter tried to make radio contract, but then he thought better of it. By now news of their raid on Muhl would have spread around the globe. If Central Command had a military presence on Lortec, which was a sure bet, they didn't want a welcoming party ready to blow them out of the sky.
"Full stealth mode, R3," Peter said. "We don't know much about this island."
"Acknowledged. Full stealth initiated. I'll follow you in."
As they approached the island, Peter brought them in low just two hundred feet above the sea. At their speed no one would know they'd been there until they were long gone. Peter decided to take one pass over the island and hopefully spot the airfield, or at least, a place to land. As they headed over land Peter observed low rolling hills with lush green fields and many farm houses. The sky was almost clear here—not like Turvin or Lamaine Shane where, on the clearest day, you couldn't even see the sun. For some reason the air over Tarizon was beginning to clear in the extreme lower and higher latitudes. The landscape below was what he had imagined England or Scotland to be like.
Ahead they were rapidly approaching a small mountain range. From what Vincente had told them, the private airfield was just beyond it. As they flew over the summit of the tallest peak, Peter looked out in anticipation of seeing the base, but instead of a small private airstrip there was a large military installation complete with runways, hangers, hundreds of military aircraft, dozens of barracks, training grounds, tanks, ATVs and hundreds of other buildings of every sort.
"Holy smoke," Peter said. "They've got a whole battalion on this island."
"I thought Lortec was mainly an agricultural community with no military importance," Red said.
"That's what I was led to believe."
"Now what, R1?"
"Standby while I let this sink in. . . .We can't land at the airbase, obviously. We'll have to find a soft spot somewhere nearby but where we aren't likely to be spotted. I'm going to bank right and swing around the western side of the island. You go east and survey that side. When we meet on the other side, we'll discuss what our best options might be."
"Acknowledged," Red said. "Banking left."
Peter peeled off to the right and when he hit the shoreline, he followed it completely around the Island. The shoreline below was spotted with small towns, marinas, and beach front resorts. When he circled around the lower part of Lortec he saw something that he thought might have possibilities. It looked like a golf course, but he doubted they had such things on Tarizon. Whatever it was it would provide a place to land and near the end of the grassy area there was a forest which would be perfect for hiding the fighters. When Red and he met up, a few loons later, Peter told him about the spot. He was relieved Peter had discovered it since he hadn't found anything suitable on the other side of the island.
They used their onboard scanners to see if anyone was located in the grassy area where they intended to land. The scan came up negative so they prepared to make a landing. They'd have to come out of stealth mode to land. This would be dangerous as one call to the Central Authority and they'd have a hundred soldiers after them.
As Peter eased up on the throttle and set the T-47 down on the soft turf, Peter thought he saw a man riding on a motorcycle of some sort. He was looking in their direction and looked startled to see them. After they landed the T47s Peter looked around for the motorcyclist, but didn't see him. Then he heard a pounding noise coming from the cargo hold. He unlocked it and the door flew open. Tam looked a little green as he crawled out.
"Whew! That was worse than Hell Hole back at Pegaport. I'm not usually claustrophobic, but that was like being buried alive in a coffin."
"Sorry, friend. I'm afraid it wasn't built for passengers."
"So, did we make it? Is this the Loyalist base?"
"No. Bad news. We were low on fuel so we had to stop here on Lortec."
"What! You gotta be kidding me. I'm not getting back in there for all the gold in Dalo."
Dalo, Peter had learned in geography, was an island between Turvin and Azallo in the Emerald Ocean. It was known for its rich deposits of gold and precious gems. The mines there were owned by Videl Lai and were worked mainly by mutant slaves who lived in abominable conditions. Videl's wealth and rise to power was financed largely from the profits of the Dalo mines.
"Well, you may have to, but I wouldn't worry about it quite yet."
Peter described to him what they'd seen. Spotting a large military presence on Lortec was a major stroke of luck. Loyalist command had to be made aware of the situation immediately. Peter got out the GC and called Lorin. He figured Sy and Vincente should be near the Loyalist base on the Beet Islands by then.
"R1 calling Base. Come in."
"R1. So glad to hear from you. Your friends just arrived. Are you all right?" Lorin asked.
"Yes, for now. We may have been spotted, however, during our landing."
"Acknowledged. We'll send out a refueling drone immediately. It should be there before sunset."
"Negative. On the ride in we spotted a huge military base brimming with activity. Don't you think that is rather odd for this corner of the planet?"
"Not necessarily. Lortec is one of the few places on Tarizon where the air and water have cleared. It could be Videl just wanted to train his troops under optimal conditions."
"Or Videl has found out that the Loyalist base of operations is in the Beet Islands and is getting ready for an all out assault. If he hit you now it would be devastating, wouldn't it?"
"Yes. It would."
"On Earth we have a game called football. It's a game of strength and endurance as well as strategy. One rule of football is that you always train your players under the same conditions as they will have to play on game day. If you don't, your players may be overwhelmed by the environment and unable to fully concentrate on the game. I would think that would be especially true here on Tarizon. If Videl is here on Lortec it's because of its proximity to the Beet Islands."
"Did you learn all this in basic training?"
"No. I learned that watching Tom Landry and the Dallas Cowboys."
"Who?"
"Never mind. I just wonder how Videl figured out that the Loyalist base was in the Beet Islands?"
"If he does know, I suspect he learned from a spy here at the base or from satellite reconnaissance."
"Right. So, don't you think we ought to snoop around a bit so we can give you a full assessment of their armaments and troop strength?"
"Possibly. I'm still going to put the fueling drone in the air, though, just in case the base commander wants you to come straight on home."
"Acknowledged. We're going to strip the planes and move our gear down the road a bit just in case someone comes looking for them. We'll blow them up, rather than let them be captured."
"Understood. Check back with me in an hour."
"Copy," Peter replied.
"Sandee be with you," Lorin whispered.
While they were waiting to hear back from Lorin, they surveyed their stock of weapons, ammunition, and supplies. They'd used up most of their food going over the Drogal Mountains and fired all of their missiles at Pegaport. They still had plenty of ammunition for their rifles and pistols and their lasers were fully charged. If they had to stay on Lortec for any length of time they'd have to live off the land. Given the lush forests and grasslands they'd flown over, that appeared to be the least of their worries. After they'd moved their gear and set up a camp a kylod or so from the planes, Peter said, "Let’s check this place out. It looks like a golf course."
"What's a golf course?" asked Tam.
"It's where you play golf. . . . Golf is a sport where you hit a little white ball with a stick and try to get it in a small hole. The object is to get it there with as few strokes as possible."
Tam nodded and looked out over
what looked like a long fairway. Then he said, "To me this looks like a Zodilla track."
"What's a Zodilla?" Peter asked.
Just then the ground began to shake and there was a thunderous sound from behind them. Peter turned and saw a herd of gigantic monsters running toward them. They were four legged creatures, twice the size of a buffalo, and black as the ace of spades.
"Those are Zodilla and they feed on humans," Tam said glaring at Peter. "I can't believe you landed us on a Zodilla track! Sandee save us!"
All three began to run across the track away from the fighters. They didn't want the Zodilla crushing their ride home. The Zodilla had long legs and were faster than any thoroughbred Peter had ever seen. As they got closer to the edge of the grass, Peter understood why it was called a track. There was what must have been a fifty foot fence on each side. When they reached the fence it was obvious there was no way out.
"Don't stop," Tam yelled. "Run along the fence. There will be an escape ladder up ahead."
Tam and Peter ran like they'd never run before and sure enough, up ahead, they saw a ladder running up the side of the fence. When they reached it Tam began climbing furiously. Red waited impatiently for Tam's feet to clear and then followed him up the ladder. Peter looked back at the Zodilla who had broken ranks and seemed to have one thing on their mind—having him for lunch. The lead Zodilla, anticipating his imminent feast, let out a snort, "Heeshi! Heeshi!"
Peter scrambled three rungs up the ladder just before the Zodilla crashed into it. The fence swayed back and forth nearly causing Red to fall off. Peter held on for dear life and then began climbing again as a second and third Zodilla rammed the fence. By now Tam had reached the top and was laughing at them. Peter glared at him and continued to climb. Finally they all made it over the fence, climbed down the other side, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You know what a Zodilla is now, Leek?"
Peter smiled and said, "Yeah, I know what they look like now, but why are they in captivity and why do they keep them on tracks?"
Tam nodded and said, "Come with me and I'll show you."
Tam took off toward where the Zodilla had come. After they'd run about a kylod and a half they saw what looked like a giant stadium. Suddenly Peter understood. This was a Zodilla racetrack and they'd landed right in the middle of it.
"Wanna place a bet?" Tam asked.
"Jesus," Peter said. "How do they get them to race? I didn't see any jockeys."
"Jockeys?"
"Yeah. Little men who ride them and kick ’em if they slow down."
"Oh. They have electric collars that accomplish the same thing. If they slow down or go off course they're jolted with a surge of electricity. That's why they hate humans so much and it takes such a tall fence to keep them in."
"Okay, very interesting," Peter said. "Now for the big question."
"What's that?" Tam asked.
"How do we get back to the fighters?"
Tam looked at them. Finally, he said, "Where there's a Zodilla track, there's got to be Zodilla pacers."
"What?"
"A convertible PV of sorts that they use to teach the Zodilla how to run—a very fast one. Come with me."
They followed Tam toward the stadium. Behind the stadium there was a large barn. Tam went straight to the barn and went inside. Just as they were about to go in the front gate, Tam came roaring out of the barn in what looked like a giant dune buggy. He took a couple of turns around the barn and then came to a halt in front of them. He said, "Go inside. There's two more just like this one. We'll be back at the fighters in a flash."
Red and Peter ran inside and borrowed the other two buggies. Peter turned the ignition on his and the Zodilla pacer lurched forward, taking off like a race horse coming out of the gate. They followed Tam along the fence for at least five kylods before they reached its end. Tam hung left and followed the northern perimeter of the fence until they reached a gate. It was locked, so Tam backed up his buggy, came to a stop, put it in drive, and then accelerated. He busted through the fence like it was made of toothpicks and raced toward where they'd left the fighters. Red and Peter followed him and as he approached the spot, Tam slammed on his brakes. There was a military vehicle parked near their T47s and two soldiers were inspecting them. They'd been discovered!